Vegetable-topper.



S. FRESH.

VEGETABLE TOPPER.

APPLICATION rmzn an 17, 1909.

945,229. Patented Jan. 4, 1910.

Ill" nn 6o h-ia. Frese ANDREW. l ma 0. fimo-mlnaumw. WAEMIIGVOIL 0- 0- UNITED STATEQFATENT OFFICE.

SOPHIA FRESE, F KELLOGG, MINNESOTA.

VEGETABLE-TOFFEE.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOPHIA Fnusn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kellogg, in the county of Wabasha and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vegetable-Toppers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in machines for topping onions, beets and Vegetables of a like character.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a machine of this class in which an onion or other vegetable will be fed between the contacting peripheries of a plurality of revoluble rollers, and after the same has been topped will be automatically fed from the machine into a suitable receiving receptacle.

Another object is to provide topping rolls which are covered with canvas or other suitable fibrous material by means of which the topping operation will be successfull performed when the tops of the 'vegetab es are fed between the contacting peripheries thereof.

A further object is to provide a suitable frame for supporting said topping rolls, in combination with a hopper mounted thereon by means of which the onions may be effectually fed or guided between the rolls.

\Vith these and other objects in View the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and articularly pointed out in the appended claims it being understood that chan es in the specific structure shown and descri ed may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved onion topping machine, Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section, Fig. l is a vertical transverse section thereof.

Referrin to the drawings, 1 indicates t-h side bars of a rectangular frame, which are suitably connected and braced by means of the transverse bars 2. This frame is supported upon legs 3 which are connected to the side bars 1 by the brace rods 4:, thus providing a very strong and rigid frame. The frame is disposed at a slight inclination Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 17, 1909.

Patented Jan. 4, 1910. Serial No. 496,437.

transversely of the machine, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear.

Topping rolls 5 are rotatably mounted between the side bars of the frame upon the stub shafts (5. Vhile I have shown six of these topping rolls in the accompanying drawings it will of course be understood that a greater or less number of the same may be employed in the construction of my machine, according to the capacity to which the machine is adapted.

Mounted upon the frame is a suitable receiving hopper 7, which is divided into separate compartments 8 by means of suitable partitions 9, which are inclined in opposite directions and terminate over the longitudinal center of one of the rolls 5. Thus it will be seen that the compartments 8 are disposed over and between each pair of rollers, so that when the onions or other vegetables to be topped are placed into the same, the leafy growth thereof will be caught between the contacting peripheries of the rolls 5 and cleanly severed. To insure the proper contact and gripping action of the rolls, they are preferably covered with canvas or other suitable fibrous material 5' so that upon the rotation of the rollers the tops of the vegetables will be fed between the same. It will thus be seen that there is very little liability of the vegetable slipping upon the periphery of the roll, as would be the case were the same perfectly smooth.

Upon each of the stub shafts G at one end of the rolls a pinion 10 is secured, each of which is adapted to mesh with that of the next adjacent roll. The initial movement is imparted to this train of gears by means of a suitable hand operated wheel mounted upon one of the side bars of the frame. It will be seen that upon revolving the wheel 11, the pinions will mesh with each other and each of the rolls will be rotated in a direction opposite to that of the next adjacent roll. As the peripheries of these rolls contact with each other it will readily be seen that by reason of the opposite rotation of the same, when the leafy growth of the vegetable being topped is caught between the contacting surfaces of the roll, the same will be cleanly severed therefrom. As before described the frame is transversely inclined and the hopper 7 is provided with a discharge spout 12 extending beyond the lower side of the frame. It will be seen that after the tops have been cut from the onion that the same will roll longitudinallyupon the rollers 5 and be finally discharged from the spout 12 into a suitable receiving receptacle.

Fronr the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a vegetable topping machine which is extremely simple in construction and highly efiicient in operation. It will be understood of course that a power wheel may be provided and suitably connected to a motor, in place of the hand wheel 11, to impart rotary movement to the topping rolls 5.

Vhile I have described the rolls as being covered with canvas, it will also be understood that the same may be covered with rubber or other suit-able material whereby the frictional contact of the rollers will serve to effectually perform the topping operation.

My improved machine may be very inexpensively manufactured, is of convenient proportions and will easily cut the tops from various vegetables in a very rapid and efficient manner.

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a frame, a hopper mounted upon said frame and provided With a plurality of feeding compartments, a discharge chute communicating with one end of said hopper, topping rolls rotatively mounted in said frame, said rolls being covered with suitable fibrous material, and means for imparting rotary movement to said rolls.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a frame having a hopper mounted thereon, and provided with a plurality of feeding compartments, topping rolls provided with stub shafts upon their ends mounted in said frame, said rolls having their peripheries covered with canvas and adapted to frictionally engage upon the rotation thereof, the compartments of said hopper being disposed over the engaging point 1.

of said rollers and extending the entire length thereof, a discharge chute communicating with one end of said'hopper, pinions mounted upon the stub shafts of said rolls, and a power gear revolubly mounted on said frame adapted to mesh. with one of said pinions to impart rotary movement to said rolls. In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

SOPHIA FRESE. \Vitnesses J. S. MoARTI-IUR, MICHAEL MARX. 

